Operational Assurance · Hardware-Enabled Credit

The assurance layer hardware credit needs.

SOMA is a scored, 111-factor methodology that gives lenders the advance rate guidance, covenant recommendations, and monitoring triggers to underwrite facilities where hardware, software, and capital converge. Credit-committee-grade. Delivered in days.

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$3.5T

private credit has become a core capital market, reaching $3.5T AUM, up 17% in a single year

AIMA / Reuters, 2025

25%

ABF AUM growth at the top private credit managers year-on-year, portfolios nearing $500B

S&P Global, 2025

~50%

of direct-lending borrowers carry negative free operating cash flow, software among the most exposed sectors

IMF Global Financial Stability Report, 2025

9.2%

record U.S. private-credit default rate in 2025, as banks tighten lending conditions and reprice risk

Reuters, April 2026

The diligence gap

For intelligent hardware, financial and legal DD are necessary. They are no longer sufficient.

In any ABF transaction, financial and legal due diligence are the non-negotiables: the lender must confirm ownership of the asset and verify it can generate the cash flows to service the debt. For conventional hardware (a fleet of trailers, a warehouse racking system), that combination is typically sufficient. For intelligent hardware, it is not. The asset's ability to generate cash flow is now contingent on software the borrower may not fully control. That changes the diligence requirement entirely.

When hardware, software, and capital converge in a single credit facility, operational risk sits at an intersection that existing frameworks were never built to assess. Financial DD, legal review, and software escrow each cover part of the picture. None covers the intersection.

What conventional diligence covers

✓ Financial due diligence, accounts, cashflow, DSCR

✓ Contract and collateral review

✓ Legal documentation and escrow arrangements

✓ Source code custody (software escrow only)

What remains fragmented or absent

✕ Hardware-software integration risk assessment

✕ Operational continuity and backup servicing readiness

✕ Post-close monitoring of hardware and software assets

✕ Clock synchronisation analysis, hardware, software, and capital lifecycles

✕ Credit-specific scored outputs for the investment committee

What SOMA produces

Credit-committee-grade outputs from a scored methodology.

SOMA doesn't produce observations. It produces quantified, decision-ready outputs that feed directly into credit committee papers, in the language credit teams already use.

Advance Rate Guidance

50 – 80% depending on TCS rating

Scored advance rate recommendations calibrated to the operational risk profile of the specific facility and asset class.

Risk-Adjusted Pricing

±75 – 150 bps above base

Margin and spread adjustments tied to specific operational risk factors identified during assessment.

Operational Covenants

Tied to measurable operational metrics

Facility covenant recommendations grounded in hardware uptime, software continuity, and deployment readiness, not generic boilerplate.

Monitoring Triggers

30 – 90 day early warning

Multi-factor, high signal-to-noise triggers designed to surface operational stress before it reaches the financial statements.

TCS Rating

Grades A through F

A composite Technical Continuity Score mapping the operational risk profile to a credit-grade rating with advance rate implications.

Backup Servicing Playbook

Workout-ready protocols

Scenario-based continuity and step-in protocols defining who maintains hardware and software operations in a default or workout.

How it works

Structured to fit within deal timelines.

SOMA is designed to move at the pace your deal requires. Fixed scope, fixed fee, and a credit-committee-grade report as the deliverable. The MVP typically completes in 3–5 business days; a full assessment in 2–3 weeks. Where a deal moves faster, we structure around that.

Engage

Day 1

Confidential briefing on the facility. Define the asset class, structure, and key operational risk questions. Agree scope: SOMA MVP or full assessment.

Assess

Matches your deal timeline

Structured assessment against 111 factors across 6 risk dimensions. MVP (63 factors) typically 3–5 business days. Full assessment typically 2–3 weeks. Scope and pace are agreed at engagement.

Report

Credit-committee grade

Scored report with TCS rating, advance rate guidance, risk-adjusted pricing, covenant recommendations, and monitoring trigger framework.

Monitor

Post-close · Optional

Ongoing post-close monitoring using operational telemetry triggers. Multi-severity escalation protocols. Early warning 30–90 days ahead of financial distress.

Who it's for

Built for every participant in hardware-enabled credit.

Lenders & Credit Funds

Underwrite with confidence.

For venture debt, ABL, equipment finance, and structured credit teams assessing operational risk in hardware-enabled facilities. SOMA gives your investment committee the scored outputs it needs.

Discuss a facility

Hardware Companies

Become more financeable.

For CFOs and capital markets teams preparing for a facility raise. A SOMA assessment proactively addresses the operational risk questions lenders will ask, and produces a credit-credible report for your data room.

Prepare for a raise

Ecosystem Partners

Extend your coverage.

For structured finance platforms, law firms, escrow providers, and insurers who encounter the hardware-software-capital gap from an adjacent angle. SOMA complements your existing services.

Explore partnership

Asset classes and deal types

GPU-backed compute Battery storage & fleets EV charging infrastructure Robotics-as-a-Service Connected medical devices IoT & smart infrastructure Intelligent vending Drone networks Connected vehicle platforms

Investment diligence

SOMA also supports investment committees.

Hardware-enabled credit and equity investment in the same asset class share a common question: does the technology actually perform at scale? The answer SOMA provides differs by committee, but the technical and operational depth is the same.

For credit committees

Advance rate. Covenants. Monitoring triggers.

Structured outputs calibrated to the lending decision, how much to lend, at what price, with what protections, and what to watch after close.

Advance rate guidance by TCS rating
Risk-adjusted pricing recommendations
Operational covenant design
Backup servicing and step-in protocols
Post-close monitoring trigger framework

same technical
depth, different
output

For investment committees

Defensibility. Scalability. Execution risk.

Technical and operational diligence structured for an equity lens, whether the technology is defensible, whether unit economics hold at scale, and whether the team can execute against hardware operations.

Technology defensibility and competitive moat
Operational scalability assessment
Unit economics and fleet-scale margin analysis
IP ownership and servicer dependency risk
Management execution capability against hardware operations

The output format, and the questions it answers, differs by committee type. The underlying technical and operational assessment does not.

Discuss an investment committee mandate

Why SOMA

Each existing provider covers its own piece. Hardware-enabled credit sits at the intersection.

Software escrow, technical due diligence, and operational DD each serve important functions. Each covers part of the picture. None was designed around the convergence of hardware, software, and capital within a single credit or investment context. That is where SOMA operates.

Capability	Software Escrow e.g. Escode, Iron Mountain	Tech Due Diligence e.g. Deloitte, AKF Partners	Operational DD e.g. AlixPartners, Kroll	SOMA Assurance
Source code custody & verification	Yes	No	No	Yes
Hardware integration risk assessment	No	Partial	Partial	Yes, scored
Credit-specific scored outputs	No	No	No	Yes
Advance rate & pricing guidance	No	No	No	Yes
Post-close operational monitoring	No	No	No	Yes
Backup servicing & step-in playbooks	No	No	Partial	Yes
Clock synchronisation analysis	No	No	No	Yes, proprietary

Who built it

Built by a practitioner, not a consultant.

Mihir Parikh, Founder, SOMA Assurance

SOMA was built by someone who spent 15 years constructing the hardware-software operational infrastructure that lenders are now being asked to underwrite. Not advising on it. Building it. At Jaguar Land Rover, LeasePlan, The AA, and Xerox, at board level and at deployment scale.

The methodology is grounded in direct experience of what actually breaks when hardware, software, and capital desynchronise, and what it takes to hold those systems together through market stress, PE transitions, and global rollouts.

Jaguar Land Rover Architected Connected Car operational layer. Board-level investment case for hardware-as-a-service. MVP to scale across 6 countries, 3 continents.
LeasePlan PE-driven value creation. Operational TOM delivering 14% EBITDA uplift. Hands-on understanding of PE diligence and operating leverage.
The AA ML-driven predictive maintenance from telematics data. 1.5% year-on-year EBITDA uplift from operational intelligence.
Xerox B2B pivot to HW/SW/Print-as-a-Service. Capital and operations synchronised across £5–100M reseller network.

MS Electrical Engineering, Syracuse University | MBA, London Business School

The SOMA methodology was developed and validated within a live deal environment at a structured credit fund. All intellectual property, tools, and frameworks remain solely with SOMA.

"This is what we'd want in every credit committee pack."

Senior credit professional, structured credit fund

Ready to assess a facility?

A first conversation typically covers the asset class, the facility structure, the specific operational risk questions you're facing, and whether SOMA is the right fit. No commitment required.

Discuss a live facility Request methodology overview

Or read the briefing: The Three Clocks Problem, why conventional diligence fails for hardware-enabled credit →